The Top Ten Boomer Summer Songs

Wherever you are during the summer – in the car, on the beach, at a barbecue – the radio always seems to be on. It’s no wonder, then, that the songs of summer are often the ones we remember most. And there are so many of them! Here are ten of our favorite boomer summer songs.

Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams This 1984 song by the Canadian singer perfectly illustrates the bittersweet memories of endless summers and the joy of finally getting the band back together, even though the guys might be showing their first gray hair.

Summer In The City - The Lovin' Spoonful You can practically feel heat rising from the city sidewalks in this song. A hit in August 1966, lead singer John Sebastian and his band sweetly describe the electric atmosphere of an urban summer and of being a “cool cat looking for a kitty.”

Short Shorts - The Royal Teens "Who wears shawt shawts? We wear shawt shawts.” That’s basically the whole song, so the lyrics are easy to remember, even if you’d rather forget them sometimes. (Shawt shawts - You can tell this group is from Jersey, can’t you?) But the 1957 song has a great sax riff, and the young guy who wrote the song is Bob Gaudio. He went on to front The Four Seasons with Frankie Valli—and win 25 Grammys.

Surfin' USA - The Beach Boys Let’s face it – you could make up a top-ten summer songs list using the Beach Boys alone. They did so many great numbers that it’s hard to choose just one. But we like Surfin' USA because it talks about surfing in Manhattan.

Summer Breeze - Seals and Crofts Mellow, man. This is something you listened to on a Friday night while passing around a bottle of Boone’s Farm strawberry wine (that early 70s twist-top classic). The 1973 hit also showcased some late-60s trippiness: “Summer breeze…blowing through the jasmine in my mind.” OK, if you say so.

Under The Boardwalk - The Drifters The R&B group has changed members so many times that only fanatics can keep track of who’s singing what in which year. But this 1963 sexy-yet-innocent ballad of teenage dating (on a blanket under the boardwalk) remains a classic, not least because it was written by the stupendous team of Barry Mann, Cyntia Weil, Jerry Lieber and Mark Stoller.

In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry Besides being a one-hit wonder (though that one hit is darn good ), the British group is notable for sounding more American than many American bands. The repetitive chugging sound--CHOO-choo-choo—is irresistible.

Summer Nights - Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta The 1978 movie Grease seems to have a cross-generational appeal, and this is the best number from it. John Travolta in a leather jacket and Olivia Newton-John in a circle skirt sing about the thrill of summery kisses, while their respective friends beg, “Tell me more, tell me more.” Some things never change.

Reflections - Diana Ross and The Supremes Miss Ross and the Supremes first performed this song in 1967, the legendary Summer of Love, and as a gesture to the times, even included a few introductory “psychedelic” beeps. Ross performed it at her Radio City appearance in 2010, the song has held up over the years, even without the beeps.

Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones Yes, we know it’s not about summer. But it was the number one song in the summer of 1965, when hundreds of thousands of teenagers got in touch with their inner bad boy/girl just from hearing this. With the opening bumble-bee buzz guitar riff, you can probably name this song in two seconds. And it won’t take you much longer to remember where you were when you first heard it.